Haslam claimed there was no Day 1 front-runner for the job. It shouldn’t be assumed that a consensus view of what made common sense to many — going after Bill Cowher, Nick Saban and Chip Kelly — fit neatly into Haslam’s game plan.

• Haslam: “We’ve researched a lot of people.”

Thought: Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the Haslam-Banner tapes from their conversations about their Jon Gruden research?

• Haslam: “Our goal is to get the best person, and if we happen to find that person within a week, that’s great, and if it takes a month, that’s great also.”

Thought: Patriots coordinator Josh McDaniels might actually be off the market, or he might be posturing to keep himself from being a distraction to Boss Belichick’s latest run at a Super Bowl. Michael Lombardi, the Browns’ top personnel man in waiting, likes McDaniels and could work with him. This might be McDaniels’ last, best chance to pilot Haslam’s Browns, if that’s in the heart of hearts of the former McKinley quarterback. McDaniels might not be available until next month.

• Haslam (on what he seeks in a head coach): “Strong leader. Tough. Demanding. Organized. Good attention to detail. Able to motivate people.”

Thought: Chudzinski and Marc Trestman are more brainiacs than fire-breathers. Of the recent names bandied about, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is the sleeper who awakens the radar relative to Haslam’s criteria. Bruce Arians would have to convince Haslam he’s not too much “a players’ coach” to lay down the law as needed.

• Haslam: “The scouting staff ... they all will be retained. They’re all under contract. We will go to work immediately in preparing for the free-agent time period and the draft.”

Thought: Browns director of player personnel Jon Sandusky and director of college scouting John Spytek might stay on board at least through the draft. Both have stronger ties to departed GM Tom Heckert than they developed with the Browns, but teams routinely avoid wasting all the research men such as Sandusky and Spytek have done.

• Haslam: “We think the person that can come in here and make the Cleveland Browns a winner will be recognized as one of the great coaches of all time ... will be beloved in this area.”

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Thought: It’s getting late for, say, 57-year-old CFL Trestman to vault his way into the discussion of “all-time NFL greats.” This was a bit of hyperbole on Mr. Haslam’s part.

• Haslam: “We’re going to explore all avenues, college coaches, coordinators and head coaches. The key is to get it right, where we’re good over a long period of time and where people expect the Cleveland Browns to be in the playoffs every year.”

Thought: Bill Cowher had Pittsburgh in the postseason in 1992, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. Did Haslam call Cowher? Did Cowher take the call?

• Haslam (On the importance of a popular hire): “It would be nice, but we want somebody who’s going to win. If we win, they’ll be embraced.”

Thought: Was that Haslam allowing for the possibility he won’t get his top man and will have to cobble together some sort of promising combo, say, Zimmer as head coach and Trestman as offensive coordinator?

• Haslam: “If it takes a month, we’re going to take a month, because we’re very sensitive to getting this right. The Steelers have had three coaches in 30 years.”

Thought: Now that he mentions the Steelers, one is reminded that one of the people he met in his run as a Pittsburgh minority owner was Arians, who was in Super Bowls in two of his four years as offensive coordinator. Ken Whisenhunt was offensive coordinator of the 2005 Super Bowl winner. Whisenhunt was gone before Haslam bought in, but one surmises he has heard all of the inside scoops on Whisenhunt.

Final thought: Cowher would be the hardest coach to get and is telling potential suitors — according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — he won’t return to coaching soon.

If Haslam wishes to score style points backed by heavy substance, he might want to press the issue with Cowher. Was he thinking that Cowher’s Pittsburgh record coupled with winning in Cleveland would make him, specifically, one of “the great coaches of all time?”

If it’s Cowher, it’s not hyperbole. For now, there are no indications Haslam is thinking of Gruden as a viable fallback plan if he can’t have Cowher.